As of January 2025, over 5.24 billion people, approximately 63.9% of the global population, are active on social media platforms.
Social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest have become digital town squares where people use social media to talk about things they care about, such as products, services, and trends.
If you are a business or content creator, your audience is already there talking. The smart move? Don’t just listen to them; ask them. Social media surveys are the best way to understand your audience's preferences and make decisions based on real voices, not assumptions.
For example, let’s say your company plans to launch a new fitness app and wants to do market research. You might consider conducting a fun survey using your Instagram Stories for just a few polls and sliders about what they care most about. Offer 1 month of free premium access to the first 100 customers. This way, you can build more excitement around your app and turn your casual followers into supported investors.
Did you know?
You can create your own social media survey in minutes with TheySaid. It's quick, easy, and completely free.
Why conduct social media surveys?
Here’s why you should conduct a social media survey:
User-Centric Campaigns (Let Your Audience Guide the Way)
Social media surveys are valuable tools for market research that shift guesswork into user-focused strategies. Let’s say you are launching a new product. Instead of marketing it the way you think is best, ask your target audience what features they are most excited about or what problem they want to solve through your product. The feedback data becomes the foundation for a user-centric campaign based on real needs, not assumptions.
Don’t wait until a product is live or a campaign is finished to ask for feedback. Use social media surveys before, during, and after your efforts to keep your strategy agile and user-centered.
Related Read: How to Create a Market Research Survey- Step-by-Step Guide
Tuning Into Social Issues
Social media is not just about buying products. People show up to share opinions and engage in conversations about real-world issues. You can share your survey on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and ask your audience what they think about the recent hot topic or trend going on. It shows your audience that you’re not just here to sell but to understand, support, and grow with them.
Spotting and Addressing Online Harassment
As much as social media brings people together, it has a darker side. Online harassment, trolling, and cyberbullying are still very real problems. If you are a brand or community leader, use your social media platforms to create a safe space for people to start a poll asking if you have ever witnessed or experienced cyberbullying. This simple question opens conversations and lets people share their experiences and give suggestions on how to deal with it.
Real-Time Feedback for Agile Decision-Making
Social media facilitates immediate decision-making based on real-time responses. A quick poll on Instagram Stories gets hundreds of responses within hours or sometimes even minutes. For example, a quick poll on Instagram Stories asking, “Which logo feels more modern to you?” can help a brand finalize the logo on the same day.
Some of the incredibly flexible tools are :
- Quick polls for instant reactions
- Question boxes for open feedback
- Emoji sliders for sentiment checks
All these tools are at your fingertips, and they cost exactly $0 to use.
Real-Time Interaction = Real Results
How to Use Social Media Surveys to Your Advantage
Here’s a quick look at the top social media platforms, the number of people on each one, and the key demographics you’ll want to consider when designing your surveys.
Start with the Right Platform
To create an effective marketing strategy, it's important to know which platform your audience spends most of their time on. Tools like Instagram Insights, Twitter Analytics, and LinkedIn’s analytics dashboard will help you audit your audience's behavior.
Ask yourself which platforms deserve your attention, what type of content you should post ( Videos, reels, blog posts, infographics), and which influencers or creators you might want to collaborate with.
For example, if you are a skin care brand targeting Gen Z, Instagram and TikTok are your platforms. You can create polls on Instagram stories asking if you prefer gel-based or cream-based moisturizers. Maybe tease a new product that matches the winning preference. Similarly, LinkedIn is your place if you’re in a B2B brand aiming for marketing professionals.
Create strategic polls asking, What’s your biggest challenge in lead generation, content creation, or analytics? It not only gets your desired data but also positions you as a brand that actually listens to your audience in the industry..
Reward Participation (But Make It Genuine)
People love creative content that gives them a peek into themselves. Create playful polls and personality style surveys to drive engagement. Thank them for their valuable feedback with some incentives, rewards, or a discount code.
Here’s an example for you:
We're designing our next product and want your opinion! Take our 3-question poll and enter to win a $35 gift card.
Boost Reach with Influencers & Followers
Want more people to see and respond to your survey? Let your followers help you spread the word. Ask your people to share your survey with friends, retweet, and repost. Work with influencers in your niche and have them ask the question on their page. Their followers are likely to be your audience, too.
Turn Feedback into Content That Connects (and Builds Loyalty too)
The insights you gain from social media surveys help you develop better products and fuel your content strategy. When you are fully aware of what your audience is curious about, struggling with, or excited for, you can create content that they understand, and when they feel understood, they stick around. For example, if you run a productivity-focused brand and 60% of your customers say they struggle with time management, it's your cue to write a blog, record a podcast, or create a short video addressing the issue. This kind of response builds trust, loyalty, and engagement..
Did you know?
70.1% of the total US population actively uses social media, totaling a number of 239 million people
Sample Online Social Media Survey Questions
Use these questions to gather insights on how your audience engages with social media; customize them to fit your brand, platform, or goals.
Product Feedback
Which feature do you find most efficient in our app?
A. Speed
B. Design
C. Ease of use
D. Customer support
How would you rate the value for the price?
A. Excellent
B. Good
C. Fair
D. Too expensive
Market Research
Where do you usually discover new products?
A. Facebook
B. Instagram
C. YouTube
D. Friends’ recommendations
What influences your buying decision the most?
A. Price
B. Quality
C. Brand values
D. Social media presence
Harassment and bullying
Have you ever experienced or witnessed cyberbullying? If you’re comfortable, feel free to share your story below.
[Open text field]
Do you feel safe sharing your thoughts online?
A. Always
B. Sometimes
C. Rarely
D. Never
General Social Media Usage Survey
Which social media channels are you most active in?
A. Facebook
B. Instagram
C. Twitter (X)
D. Snapchat
E. LinkedIn
F. Telegram
G. Other (please specify)
How much time do you spend on social media each day?
A. Less than 1 hour
B. 1–3 hours
C. 4–6 hours
D. 7–9 hours
E. 10+ hours
Related Read: Engaging Social Media Survey Questions for Better Insights
How to create social media surveys with TheySaid
Tradition surveys kind of sucks. They are long and boring and feel like homework. But when you use social media surveys, especially with a tool like TheySaid, things get way more interesting.
You meet people where they already are (Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter), ask smarter questions, and get feedback that helps you make decisions. And the best part? AI does most of the work.
Here’s a step-by-step guide for creating a social media survey with TheySaid
Let TheySaid Learn About Your Business
All you have to do is enter the URL of your website, and AI will automatically learn about your business. From there, you can create a pulse check (like NPS or CSAT), a full AI survey, or even an AI-powered interview.
Use AI to Build Your Survey in Seconds
Forget spending hours writing survey questions. AI will generate smarter and more relevant questions in seconds. Opt for an AI interview to simulate real conversations with your audience.
Choose the Right Format for Social Media
TheySaid supports multiple ways to share your survey:
- Share a direct link in your social media post or bio.
- Add a QR code to an Instagram image or Twitter graphic.
- Embed it in a social story or carousel with a CTA.
- Use Slack or in-app chat if you’re targeting internal teams or B2B users.
Read - Social Media Usage Survey 2025: Stats, Questions, & Survey Insights
Let AI Handle the Analysis
Once the responses start rolling in, TheySaid goes to work by summarizing trends, flagging action items and follow-ups, and helping you create actionable strategies. Basically, it saves you from sifting through a mountain of raw answers. You get the insights without the overwhelm.
Stop guessing what your customers are thinking and start real conversations.
Try TheySaid free today and create your first AI-powered social media survey in minutes.
Key Takeaways
- Instead of guessing what people want, ask them directly through social media surveys.
- Use platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn to run quick, easy surveys that feel native to the social experience.
- Surveys double as engagement tools. Turn responses into blog posts, product updates, and community-building efforts.
- Address online harassment through thoughtful, safe-space surveys that give voice to your audience’s experiences.
- With AI-powered survey creation, auto-analysis, and flexible sharing tools, TheySaid helps you build smarter and faster social media surveys.
FAQs
What are social media surveys?
Social media surveys are quick, interactive questionnaires shared on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to gather insights from your followers and audience.
How often should I run a social media survey?
It depends on your goals! Once a week for ongoing feedback or before and after a launch or campaign for targeted insights.
Are social media surveys secure and private?
If you're collecting sensitive feedback, always inform your audience how their data will be used. With TheySaid, your data stays secure, and insights are handled ethically.
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